I see, DianaG, thanks. Does that also apply to obligations in and around Anchorage? Is per diem only kosher when she leaves the city? I see that on the travel authorization the Post provided, Palin’s explanation reads “Funeral service, Black community meeting”. I believe we can assume the funeral service did not occur at her state office, possibly the “community” meeting as well. It would appear “own residence” is intended as an explanation for why no hotel charges are attached. Does that change things at all?
One more thing, and I’m just interested in exhausting all posibliities here before joining the fray, is it possible that as Governor that her legal residence is now Juneau and that trips to Wasilla and Anchorage have reverted to travel destinations?
ETA: Pardon any redundancy. I see Mr. Moto has noticed and questions the same.
And therein lies the problem. If you’re a politician, you can claim every benefit available under the letter of the rules as interpreted favorably to yourself, or you can be a “maverick” and a “reformer” intent upon cleaning up the system. You can’t do both.
I’m going to lean with** Moto **on this, for a couple of reasons. In many cases the rules and regs on *per diem *payments and the like are Byzantine in complexity, easy to screw up. Secondly, as governor of an oil-rich state, she has many and much larger opportunities for cashing in. If she is corrupt, and I’m not saying she is, its not likely that she would bother with trying to squeeze a nickle or two out of her expense account.
False dilemma. When I used to travel for my company on government business, nobody wanted me to go broke out of packet by doing so - and nobody wanted me to game the system and get more money than I was due.
She’s billing far less than her predecessors. That seems like reform to me. And a glance at these charges doesn’t strike me as anything untoward - like I said, these forms are used for per-diem and non per-diem expenses alike.
I’ll be traveling later in the week - about 80 miles round trip. I’ll bill mileage and meal costs, but not a hotel room. Who would complain about that?
Nope. In fact, finding housing in DC is one of the first big problems newly elected respresentatives face, and a lot end up renting apartments or houses together, and some even, like the (admittedly frugal Mark Sanford, when he was congressman), sleep in their offices.
Enlighten me for I’m failing to see how selling the private jet, getting rid of the chef and failing to claim per diem on many of the children’s expenses, despite the fact their presence was requested and then becomes legally allowable under state statutes, is “claiming every benefit.” It looks to me like in many cases she’s done exactly the opposite.
Are there some outstanding per diem violations? Don’t know, that’s what we’re trying to get clarification on.
I am still very surprised by this and have to think the congresscritters bill their lodging back to their home states somehow and to me that is fair. If they don’t that is a substantial cost to them just to do their job and that makes little sense from any perspective.
Seems to me charging a per diem in order to go to work in Anchorage from Wasilla is bogus. To me that is her commute. If I choose to live 45 miles from Chicago I guarantee you my employer will not pay me extra to come to work. That is my choice and if I do not like the commute/cost I can move closer.
*“Even if the family was there 24-7, the governor would not want a luxury item like a personal gourmet chef at the mansion,” Stapleton said. “Now granted, during the height of the session, there are more receptions, more expectations for people to stop by, and then (a chef) is very helpful. But on a day-to-day basis, with the family, she just feels that’s one luxury item she will not need.”
The Palin family will prepare its own meals, she said.
The cut was important to Palin because she’s demanded that other departments make reductions, Stapleton said. “She wants to do her part.”*
Uhh… you’re blaming Palin for attempting to rectify Murkowski’s egregious transgression?
Anchorage Daily news: *Former Gov. Frank Murkowski bought the jet, which cost the state about $2.6 million, over the protests of the Legislature and used it to fly around the state, sometimes mixing campaign errands with government business.
After he defied almost everyone to acquire it, the jet became a political albatross for Murkowski. Gov. Sarah Palin beat Murkowski bad in last August’s Republican primary. One of her campaign promises was to sell the plane and she’s been trying to unload it for months. Robert Heckmann owns Turbo North Aviation. He said his company has sold more than 1,800 planes including two dozen or so jets in the past 27 years. *
What is it exactly that you maintain she did wrong?
I don’t have to - this kind of shit souffle collapses under the weight of its own absurdity. First, she was giving birth to her own grandchild. Next, she was a bad mother because she didn’t quit her career to stay home with her children, as any real woman would do. Now it’s some other horseshit about her expense report.
Half the fun is watching the facility with which you leap from one ridiculous assertion to something even dumber without admitting it. The other half will come in November, when with quivering lip and tear-filled eyes y’all wonder how come the American people won’t do as they’re told and vote for Obama and his new way of campaigning.
If the private chef is being paid $45,000/year to work in one area, and is making, one would guess, a similar salary working as a “relations assistant” before being moved to a museum, and ultimately, the Legislative Lounge, then that’s not actually saving anybody any money. Sure, it looks good. It’s a great PR move. But the bottom line is that the state is paying her $45,000, whether she’s working at the Governor’s mansion or not. If the point is to laud Palin for saving money, then well, I’m not impressed and I don’t think she deserves to be lauded. Since she charged some $16,000 per diem, she ended up costing the state $61,000, not saving it $45,000.
As for the jet, I don’t think she did anything wrong, but once again, taxpayers were the ones who got shafted, while Palin ends up looking like some sort of no-nonsense reformer.
They don’t, really. They do make six figures, so it’s not like they’re at minimum wage, but they pay for their own housing. They pay their travel expenses back and forth from their district, as well. (They are allowed to deduct this on their taxes, though)
Thing is you never actually debunk the ridiculous assertions. You just wave your hand and call them that without ever actually making a case for your version.
You may be 100% correct but, “Shodan said it is so therefore it must be true” does not really cut it around here.
While her turning down personal use of the chef’s services is admirable, I’d agree, Pepperlandgirl that right now I don’t see where any savings occured regarding the chef’s salary.
I do not care about her taking care of her family if she is OK with it . I am more concerned with her getting preggers while in office. McCain is unlikely to make it through 4 years. . She does gods will and spitting out kids is her part of the deal.
She’s 44 years old. Unlikely she will have another child. While technically able to she has plenty of kids now and having children at that age is dangerous to the woman and the child. The chances of having a child with Downs Syndrome also rise dramatically with pregnancies over the age of 40. I honestly cannot see her or her husband having any desire for more kids at this point, particularly if she is serving as VPOTUS.
Of course I do not know what the Palin family thinks about this, just saying for my part I am not worried in the slightest about a White House VP being pregnant.